Talking to reporters later, Chowdhary said that TDP had expected the Centre to ‘handhold’ Andhra Pradesh after it was bifurcated in 2014 and it was ‘unfortunate’ that the Centre had not granted special category status, an ‘emotional issue’. Raju said considerable time had elapsed since the formation of the state, but the Centre had not honoured the promise made on the floor of Parliament and TDP had to pay heed to people’s voice.

TDP’s decision to withdraw its representat ives from the Narendra Modi government did not come as a surprise for BJP as it had sensed some months back that the southern ally was preparing the ground to walk out of the NDA due to political compulsions, though it used ‘denial of special category status’ as a reason.

BJP insiders said that withdrawing from the Union government could be the first step. With YSR Congress setting a deadline for its MPs to quit the Lok Sabha, if the Centre does not grant Andhra Pradesh special category status, BJP insiders said it was a matter of time before Naidu would ask his TDP MPs to follow suit, sources said.

Facing anti-incumbency in the state, TDP is likely to withdrawing support to the Modi government well before the Lok Sabha elections and simultaneously scheduled assembly polls next year by trying to pin the blame on the Centre. Both sides maintain they have their reasons to part ways.

Insisting that the Centre was willing to walk the extra mile to give Andhra Pradesh all benefits that special category status would entail, a Union minister said only the nomenclature was not used as the 14th Finance Commission had limited the usage to northeast and other hill states. The minister maintained some of the demands made by the Naidu government were not acceptable and alleged that the TDP dispensation had overlooked other measures like grant of various special projects, including the petroleum and cracker complex at Kakinada and funds for building Amaravati while cribbing that the Centre had not given adequate benefits.

Citing another example, a BJP minister said that the promise of railway zone at Vishakhapatnam was stuck due to valid reasons. Odisha was opposed to making Vizag or Waltair the headquarters as it would divert revenue from the state to this region, weakening the East Coastal Railway.

Queering the pitch for TDP is the response to yatra that YSRCP founder Jagan Mohan Reddy has been receiving and the buzz that the party has been in touch with the BJP brass. Reddy’s remarks that his party was willing to support the Centre if the Centre grants special category status has created a flutter in TDP.

BJP insiders fear that BJP could become a punching bag for both YSRCP and TDP in the next elections, with both competing to blame the Centre, even while attacking each other. While any prepoll alliance between YSRCP and BJP looks unlikely as the former could lose its Christian and Dalit vote base, TDP appears to be moving towards fighting the polls without the BJP as partner.